




OF THE 



OP THE BRITISH FORCES 1 



i 



d. 



O 




4 



TO THE 



M 




Cy ^ 




The Cextexxial Axxiversary avill be celebrated 
ox the field of Yorktowx, Va. 
October 18th, 1881. 











aass_t._2AA 

Book Xfolill. 



-^c^au lEZJSTOIE"^"^^- 



SURR[ID[R OF THE BRITISH FORCES 




^fmml&m 



b 



'L 




TiiK C!entennial Anniversary will be celebrated 

ON THE field OF YoRKTOWN, Va. 

October 18th, 1881. 



C 



~1 



Dk. \V. J. (\ DuHamel, 



I'OMMISSHINK.K, DISLIUCT ((ILl' M lil A. 



EXA\ 



^/ 



> 



^^%^ 



^l^ 






On the York river, in full view of the beavitiful waters of the 
Chesapeake, with its waves sparkling in the morning sun, is to be 
seen on a projection of land, Yorktown, Va., a place memorable in 
American history, and near by stands the old church, built over two 
hundred years ago, where repose the ashes of many patriot dead, who 
were killed during the siege of October, 1781.*.»»m #V(»«*<r '(t 

Yorktown was occupied by Cornwallis with tlie British Army in 
August, 1781, for the purpose of being near his supplies and ships, 
and, as he said, to make it more convenient to capture the American 
army in Virginia, under the youthful General Lafayette. He also 
occupied the opposite point (Gloucester Point) where the British 
Colonel Tarlton was in command, and who was a terror to the neigh- 
boring country from his raids and acts of cruelty. 

Cornwallis made several efforts to capture General Lafayette and 
his small force by pretended retreats, &c., but the young General was 
too active for him. General Anthonj' Wayne always managed with 
his troops to dash through their lines, thus breaking his designs. 
Cornwallis felt so secure in this position, that he offered over a 
thousand men to Sir Henry Clinton who was in danger from the 
American and French army under Washington at New York. It 
was at this time that General Lafayette determined to draw his net 
around Cornwallis, and he directed General Wayne with the addition 
of some six hundred militia obtained from the Government of 
Virginia, to move down the James river to be ready to form a juncti(m 
with the troops from the French fleet, as he was then expecting 
Admiral DeGrasse and his fleet in the Chesapeake. 

Cornwallis took forcible possession of the plantations in the 
counties adjoining Yorktown, making prisoners of the residents, but 
they lived to see the glorious sight when the British army marched 
out in the appointed field and surrendered their arms to the Ameri- 
can army. 



^jjoi^ft to I r n ^ ic ac. 



General Washington resolved to march south and help Lafayette 
to capture ConiAvallis, but he had to proceed in a very careful manner 
to prevent Clinton at New York from reinforcing the British army in 
Virginia. He acted as if he were about to attack New York by way 
of Staten Island, but at the same time pushed the men of his army 
through Pennsylvania with the French forces under Count de Rou- 
chambeau.* For a time his movements were a mystery to his own 
army, but in a short time Sir Henry Clinton found himself out- 
generaled, and his friend Cornwallis, in Virginia, in a perilous posi- 
tion. About the same time, Lafayette wrote to Washington urging 
him to move south with his army, and to put himself at the liead of 
the combined armies, as he considered it an excellent opportunity to 
capture the British army in Virginia, and thanked Washington for 
ordering him there to make such a brilliant military achievement 
then in ])rospect. 

About the first of September, the American armj'^ passed through 
Philadelphia and Baltimore, covered with dust and in worn-out 
uniforms, they were received Avith cheers and enthusiasm by the 
})0pulace who hailed them as the defenders of the country. The 
French entered the next day with the dust brushed off their gay 
white uniforms faced with green, headed by their fine military bands. 

Washington joined Lafayette with the army at Williamsburg on 
the 12th of September, having stopped on his way for a day with his 
staff and French officers, at his home. Mount Vernon, after an 
absence of six years. 

The British army was now in a critical situation, and its retreat 
was cut off from the sea by the splendid French fleet which l)locked 
up the York river. t,o0H «" /•/♦•*'' 'f 

Artillery ancV siege cannons were sent up by the French Admiral 
to the American army, and the Generals of the American army visited 
the French fleet and formed a plan for the siege of Yorktown. About 
the 1st of October the British withdrew into the town, and the 
Americans seized the outworks encircling the town from river to 
river, and the battle commenced. 

During the cannonading one shot killed three and wounded 
four men near General Washington, throwing the earth on the hat of 

*Froin Rhode Island to Virginia tho French anny marched, not a jiig or chicken being 
taken, whicli was very diflerent from Braddock's men on their march, insulting the poor on 
tlieir line of march, and the people regarded them as I'obbers and not as defenders. 



the Chaplain, Rev. Mr. Evans, who called General Washington's 
attention to it ; the General remarked that he should take it to his 
home as a relic of the siege. Governor Nelson, of Virginia, directed 
the first gmi at his own house, as it was the headquarters of the 
British General, and offered a reward of £5 to the soldiers for every 
bomb that hit the house.* 

A red hot shell from the French batteries struck the British shii» 
Charon at night, and it was soon wrapped in flames, causing a vivid 
brightness, as other ships caught fire, while around came almost 
lightning and thunder from the numerous cannon and mortars, 
presenting a magnificent and sublime sight in the darkness of the 
night. Some of the shells were thrown over the town, and were seen 
to fall in the river, bursting and throwing up columns of water like 
monsters of the deep. The bombs from each party crossed eacli 
other in the air, looking at night, like fiery meteors with blazing tails 
descending to execute their work of destruction. For several days 
continued assaults were made on the different lines of fortification, 
and acts of bravery and gallantry were numerous, and under the 
personal observation of the commanding officers, and on the last dav 
as the last line of the works was stormed, Colonel de Lameth, the 
Adjutant General to Lafayette, was the first to mount the parapet, he 
received a volley from the Hessians who defended it, and falling back 
shot through both knees, was conveyed away by his friends. Colonel 
Dumas and Surgeon DuHamel, of the French navy. 

A little before day-brqak on the 16th, Cornwaljis made a last 
effort to ward off the effective action of the American batteries from 
his dismounted works; he sent out some four hundred men under 
Colonel Abercrombie, and the redoubts which covered our batteries 
were forced, and several pieces of artillery were spiked, but the troops 
from the trenches drove the enemy back with loss on their part. At 
this time Cornwallis could not show a gun on the side of his works, 
and the place was no longer tenable ; but rather than surrender he 
determined to make his escape, uoof^ #a^pa*if 'V- 

Cornwallis' plan of escape from Yorktown was to attack the 
French and Americans at Gloucester Point before day-break; mount 
his Infantry on the captured cavalry and other horses, and force his 
way through Maryland and Pennsylvania to New York, but a violent 
storm arose that night and drove his boats down the river and put a 
stop to his wild and daring scheme. His hopes were now at an end, 
as his fortifications were crumbling in ruins around him, and unwil- 
ling to expose the residue of his brave men who had been so faithful 
in all dangers, he sent a flag of truce to Washington to suspend 
hostilities. 

*Thei-e is a cave on the side of the river, still called the Cornwallis Cave, where, it i.s 
said, Cornwallis took refuge during the seige. 



Colonel Laurens was appointed first commissioner to negotiate 
the surrender; he was the son of Hon. Henry Laurens, who had 
been sent as ambassador to Holland, ])ut was captured and was then 
in the tower of London. 

The terms of surrender were similar to those granted to General 
Lincoln a year before at Charleston, and he (General Lincoln) 
arranged the surrender and received the British army.* 

The French and American armies formed two lines of over a 
mile in length, and the British army marched between the two, sur- 
rendering their arms which they threw in a i:)ile with such force as 
to break them, such was the mortification of the men, and they were 
checked in the same. It was a l^right and glorious day, but a day of 
bitter disappointment to the English. The captured troops marched 
out with colors folded and drums beating a slow march. The officers 
were allowed their side arms and private property, and all the mili- 
tary and artillery were delivered to the American forces, and the 
marines and seamen to the French navy. The French army with 
Count de Rochambeau in complete uniform, and with their bands 
presented a splendid appearance. The Americans though not all in 
un.iform, presented a fine soldierly air with joy beaming from their 
countenances. 

Every degree of confidence and harmony existed between the 
American and French, and the only spirit to excel was in exj^loits 
of bravery against the common enemy. 

The British army made many brilliant exploits and victories 
under Cornwallis, and they almost adored him, but he should have 
cheerfully shared in their humiliation and disgrace; it is said, how- 
ever, he gave himself up to vexation and remorse.f 

The Commander-in-chief of the allied forces expressed himself 
in an order of the day — "thanks due the brave officers and soldiers 
of the French and American armies V^i-*>^*< m /v f^^i^ / •*• 

It was a sad sight to see Yorktown after the siege, with bodies of 
men and horses half covered with earth, the fine houses riddled with 
cannon balls, and the rich furniture and books scattered over the 
ruins. The loss of men of the French army was double that of the 
Americans. There were eleven thousand in the British army at the 
commencement of the siege, and our forces in all amounted to about 
twelve thousand six hundred. 

*The " Moore House," where the treaty was signed for the surrender of the British, is 
still existing on the " temple" farm, wliich was named after the ruins of an old temple 
erected by the Indians and was also the scene of many romances. 

f Such was his mortification that he feigned sickness and deputed General O'llara to 
surrender tlie army, which was marched out at two o'clock. 



Col. Taiiton, after the surrender, was mounted on a fine horse 
remarkable for its noble bearing, and Avhile riding with several French 
officers with whom he was to dine, was met by a Virginia gentleman 
who recognized and demanded his horse, but Tarlton was reluctant 
to give it up; General O'Hara who was present advised him to give 
it up at once, which he did, and had to remount a miserable old 
plough horse to finish his ride, as it appears that this horse had been 
captured in the following manner: — At Hanover Court House there 
were a number of Virginia gentlemen who were there to hear the 
news and talk over the events of the day, a servant man came at full 
speed to inform them that Colonel Tarlton and his British troops 
were not three miles off, and in their alarm and sudden confusion to 
get away, each one mounted the first horse he could put his hands 
on, thereby returned home on horses not their own. They all escaped 
but one gentleman who hid himself in the chimney -way and Colonel 
Tarlton helped himself to his splendid charger then in the stable. 

Col. Tarlton who had done much injury to the citizens in his 
raids through the country, heard a Virginia lady speak in high terms 
of Colonel Washington, a relative of General Washington. Colonel 
Tarlton remarked that he would like to see Colonel Washington, 
she replied "that he could have had that pleasure if he had looked 
behind him in his retreat at the battle of the Cowpens. 

Next to our American General Washington, much is due to the 
patriot General Lafayette by his skill for the success in capturing the 
British army at Yorktown. Lafayette was born near Paris, and the 
inheritor of a princely fortune. At eight years of age he entered the 
College of Louis the Great, and he was in a few years rewarded for 
his success in his studies. Here the lovely but ill fated Queen of 
France, Maria Antoinette, who was beheaded with the King during 
the reign of terror in France, encouraged him in his progress at 
College and had him promoted as an officer in the King's guard, and 
also aided him in obtaining money to help the Americans. He met 
Dr. Franklin in Paris and offered his services before he was twenty- 
one years old, and equipped a vessel at his own expense, arrived at 
Philadelphia and presented himself to Congress, "I have come!" he 
said, "to request two favors of this assemblage of patriots, one is 
that I may serve in your army !" "the other, that I receive no pay." 
His services Avere accepted and he was commissioned as Major- 
Greneral. 

The American army was much in need of supplies and rations 
for the men, and Lafayette sent several thousand dollars to General 
Washington for the purchase of the same. At the battle of Brandy- 



wine, Lafayette, gave full evidence of his skill and bravery, as he 
was wounded on the first day of the battle. He continued actively 
('mi)loyed with the army until 1779, when he returned to France and 
«)l)tained further aid for America. 

Lafayette was left an orphan in early childhood, with the inheri- 
tance of a princely fortune, and married at sixteen years of age. 

To men of ordinary mould this condition would have been one 
of luxurious apathy, and sensual indulgence. It was the life into 
which from the operation of such causes Louis the Fifteenth had 
sunk with his household and court, while Lafayette was rising to 
manhood and fame, although surrounded by the contamination of 
their example. He was at the time of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence a captain of dragoons in garrison at Metz. 

On the 7th of December, 1776, Silas Deane, then a secret agent 
of the American Congress, agreed that Lafayette should have a com- 
mission in the United States army and the Marquis stipulated in 
return to depart when and how Mr. Deane should judge proper, to 
serve the United States with all possible zeal, without pay or emolu- 
ment. The commission was conlirmed by Dr. Franklin. 

"The more desperate the cause," says Lafayette, "the greater 
need has it of my services, and if Mr. Deane has no vessel for my 
passage, I shall purchase one myself and will traverse the ocean Avith 
a selected company of my own." But other impediments arose; at 
the instance of the British embassador, orders were issued for the 
detention of the vessel purchased by the Marquis, and fitted at Bor- 
deaux, and for the arrest of his person. To elude these orders the 
vessel was removed from Bordeaux to the neighboring ports of 
passage within the dominion of Sjiain, from Avhence he sailed. 

He landed with his companions on the 25th of April, 1777, in 
South Carolina, not far from Charleston, where he was received with 
cordial welcome in the house of INEajor Huger. 

He served at the headquarters of Washington as volunteer, with 
the rank and commission of Major General, without command. 

The fall of Philadelphia was the result of the battle of Brandy- 
wine, in which Lafayette was engaged, and the first lesson of his 
l)ractical military school was a lesson of misfortune. In the attempt 
to rally the American troops in their retreat he received a musket 
ball in the leg. 

Th(! minister plenipotentiary, at the court of Versailles, Avas 
directed to cause an elegant sword, with proper devices, to be pre- 
sented to him in the name of the United States. 



Shortly after, he returned to the United States, in May, 17S0, 
and from this time until the termination of the campaign of 1781, 
Avith the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown, 
and his service was of incessant activity always signalized by military 
talents unsurpassed and by a spirit never to be subdued. 

His army needed clothing, and from the patriotic merchants of 
Baltimore he obtained, on the pledge of his own personal credit, a 
loan of money adequate to the purchase of the materials ; and from 
the hands of the fair daughters of the Monumental City, even then 
as now Avorthy to be so called, he obtained their aid in making up 
the needed garments. 

After forty years had elapsed he again revisited the United States 
which he had left at the close of the revolutionary war. The greater 
part of the generation for, and with whom he had fought his first 
battles had passed away. Of the two millions of souls for whose 
rescue from oppression he had crossed the ocean in 1777, not one in 
ten survived, and the sentiment of gratitude and affection for La- 
fayette far from declining with the lapse of time, quickened in spirit 
as it advanced in years, and seemed to multiply with the increasing 
numljers of the people. 

And though fifty-six years have passed since that event there 
still exist men and Avomen in our midst who contributed to the 
glorious reception of General Lafayette, and who speak of it ivith just 
pride, i-^folx. ov/^/t^if zV- 

After the war was over he returned to France. In 1789 he was 
elected Commander of the National Guards, and for a time checked 
the mob from running into those horrid excesses Avhich Avere after- 
Avards committed during the revolution. A short time after, he had 
to fly his country for safety and was throAvn into prison and chained 
by the Emperor of Austria on account of his republican principles. 
Several years after, Bonaparte had him set at liberty, and he Avas 
elected to the Chamber of Deputies. 

In 1824 General Lafayette visited the United States and Avas 
received AA'ith great ovations by a grateful people, and hailed as their 
benefactor by an immense concourse of American people Avho remem- 
bered his former services and liberality. He retiirned home in 1825 
in a ship fitted out by the United States and named "BrandyAvine,'" 
in honor of his bravery at that memorable battle. He died in 
France, in 1834. 

We are to have a Centennial celebration at YorktoAvn, October. 
1881, and let every American visit the place and imbibe some of the 
patriotic sentiments on that occasion to make an impression Avhich 



10 

he may koe]) during life. It will also teach him the lesson of tlu- 
past. From amid the machinery of the politics of the present day 
he may learn what was once the tone of puhlic life. It will enlarge 
his patriotism and elevate his notions of public life, and call out 
some veneration for the dead ; the patriots of those days. 

Ancient and modern history do not show a parallel for those 
men ; for nature made those men great, called as they Avere by their 
country to defend her liberties, they vindicated the rights of human- 
ity, and on the foundation of Independence they erected tins 
Republic. 

They vohmtarily refused the sword and sceptre, though thrust 
upon them, and by this sublime act they have from that time received 
the world's profound admiration. 



'' Onjame's eternal campin;/ (jromid^ 
Their silent tents are spread ; 
Millie glory guards ivith solcnin "round 
This bivouac of the dead.'" 



11 

An invitation was extended by Governer Holliday, of Virginia, 
to the Governors of the Colonial States, requesting them to meet in 
the city of Philadelphia and confer with regard to holding a celebra- 
tion of the Hundredth Anniversary'. 

In response to the call the Governors of the Colonial States met 
at "Carpenter's Hall," near "Independence Hall," on the 18th of 
October, 1870. On motion of Governor Hoyt, of Pennsylvania, 
Governor Holliday, of Virginia, was elected President, and Governor 
Talbot of Massachusetts, was elected Secretary. 

It was resolved that a Commissioner from each State, &c., be 
nominated by the Governors thereof, of which Committee Governor 
Holliday shall be Chairman ; be appointed to make all proper 
arrangements for such celebration. 

The Governors of the States, &c., appointed the followino- 
Commissioners : m^ :> '' 

Hon. Moses White .Tennessee. Col. M. Glennan Vimni. 

Majors. P. Hamilton. . .. South Carolina. Hon. J. L D Morrison M If ■ 

Hon. Milo P. Jewett, LL.D. . . .Wisconsin. Gen. J F Hartranf ' " ■p;,.;^! t ■■'• 
Hon. Irving W. Stanton Colorado. Ron.V/llSsh ' ' " ^'^""^STf"'^- 

Capt. Jn.. Milledge Georgia. Hon. E. F^Warf.'"^. •.•.•.•.•■• Kansa" 

|on:?;f-.J^^;ie,;u.-s;s.v.caii£- S^-^;tSL 6onin 

p,^i Til, , c! 11 -Licvctuit. iviajoi ,J . 1j. tJarstow Vermnnt 

Hon.Jno.A.King NewVk. Col.«. Tkj^:"^'"''^ ••• M.J^l 

Col. E. P. Mattocks Maine Dr W T P n„w i tx ' -/^f-''^'^'^''- 

-i^^'iaine. iJr W. J. C. DuHamel . .Dist. of Columbia. 



Joint Commission of Congress. 

On the Yorklown Centennial Celebration. 



Hon. John W. Johnson, Pres. . . Virginia. 
•• Edward H. Rollins, New HamiJshire! 

Henry L. Dawes, . .of Massachusetts. 
'• Henry B. Anthony. . .Rhode Island. 

Francis Kernan New York 

" Theo. F. Randolph. , . .New Jersey.' 
•■ Wilham W. Eaton . . . Connecticut. 

John Goode Virginia. 

J. G. Hall New Hampshire. 

George B. Loring. . . .Massachusetts. 
" Nelson W. Aldrich . . Rhode Island. 
" Joseph R. Hawley . . . Connecticut. 

Nicholas Muller New York 



Hon. William A Wallace. 
•■ William Pinkney Wh 
'• Matt W. Ransom . . 
•■ M. C.Butler. . . . 
" Benjamin H. Hill , 
'• Thomas F. Bayard . 
'• Samuel B. Dick. 

Lewis A. Bingham. 
'■ E. L. Martin. . . 
•• J. F. C. Talbott . . 

Josepli J. Davis 
'• John 8. Richardson . 
'• Henry Persons. . . . 



. -Pennsylvania. 

ite. . .Maryland. 

. Noi'th Carolina. 

. South Carolina. 

■ . Georgia. 

• . . Delaware. 

. Pennsylvania. 

. .New Jersey. 

. Delaware. 

■ . . Maryland. 

North Carolina. 

South Carolina. 

• . . . Georgia. 



OFFICERS OF YORKTOWN ASSOCIATION. 



UO^KOVP^^/^ 



President, 
HON. JOHN GOODE. 



First Vice-President, 

HON. THOS. COCHRAN. 



Secon d T Ice-Prcs ident. 

HON. ALEX. H. RICE. 



Third Vice-President, 
GEN'L J. PRESTON. 



Secretary, 
EDWARD EVERETT WINCHELL, 



Treasurer. 
ISAAC DAVENPORT. 



General Superintendent, 
COL. J. E. PEYTON. 

Committee on Finance, 

COL. J. B. WHITEHEAD, Chairman. 

MAJOR E. BRADFORD, PROFESSOR E. CHARLIER 

District of Columbia Committe, 

JOHN JAY KNOX, DR. W. J. DiHAMEL. 

W. W. CORCORAN, WM. M. GALT. 

STEWART VANFLEET. L. C. DUNCAN. 

LEWIS J. DAVIS. 



»3 



»4-iF^^ 




S^G^ L AA/O ^ 



M»S w^, <?/?AvV 0-^ <^p«,Lj, iqa^ C^o„^ ^Mk.maO 



